26 Oct 2024        11:48:03 am

Geography

La Nina

Tags : La Nina

Topic: Climatology

Why in the news?

• With a La Nina or a cooling of the central Pacific Ocean expected to firmly take root in September, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast a rainy September with several parts of North India expected to receive heavy rainfall.

Source: The Hindu 

About La Nina:

• It means Little Girl in Spanish. 
• It is also called El Viejo, anti-El Niño, or simply “a cold event.”
• It has the opposite effect of El Niño.
• During La Nina events, trade winds are even stronger than usual, pushing more warm water toward Asia. Off the west coast of the Americas, upwelling increases, bringing cold, nutrient-rich water to the surface.
• These cold waters in the Pacific push the jet stream northward.
• This tends to lead to drought in the southern U.S. and heavy rains and flooding in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
• During a La Nina year, winter temperatures are warmer than normal in the South and cooler than normal in the North.
• It can also lead to a more severe hurricane season.
• During La Niña, waters off the Pacific coast are colder and contain more nutrients than usual.
• This environment supports more marine life and attracts more cold-water species, like squid and salmon, to places like the California coast.
• A neutral state is when neither El Nino nor La Nina is present. During this time the sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific are close to average.

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